Basketball, NCAA, Sports

Second-half surge leads to BU win

Five points was the greatest lead either the Binghamton University or Boston University women’s basketball teams would see until nearly 30 minutes into Saturday’s game between the two conference opponents. It wasn’t until the final ten minutes approached that the Terriers took off on an 11-0 run and stopped the persistent Bearcats in their tracks, topping the conference foe 62-49.

With this defeat of Binghamton (11-13, 5-6 America East), the Terriers (17-6, 10-0 America East) remain atop America East’s standings, and have matched their streak of ten wins that it accomplished in conference play last year.

“It was a game with a lot of different things going on,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “They had their leading player looking to score quite a bit, and going on a little run of her own.”

Binghamton senior Andrea Holmes definitely was looking to score, taking 26 shots on the night and scoring on ten of them (38.5 percent). She scored a game-high 23 points, but also committed a game-high four turnovers.

“They were doing some things different defensively to us, and we weren’t hitting shots early on in the first half,” Greenberg said.

The first half was a struggle for both teams, as the buzzer sounded with a fairly low cumulative score of 45 points – BU leading 24-21. The Terriers had not trailed at all up to this point, and they were looking to break open the lead at the start of the second.

But the Bearcats entered the second half with a similarly aggressive mindset, and managed to pull ahead by a point after eight minutes of contentious play. In desperate need of a strong offensive push, BU turned to junior guard Mo Moran.

Just as Binghamton took the lead, the 5-foot-7 Moran received a pass from fellow guard and classmate Chantell Alford, and sank one from beyond the arc that would give BU a two-point lead, 33-31.

Immediately following the 3-point conversion, Moran followed up with a steal, which led to her being responsible for the next basket, defensive rebound and subsequent assist for the Terriers. Moran would go on to score a team-high 19 points, which ties her season high from the Terriers’ Jan. 4 victory over the University of Vermont. She also tacked on six rebounds and four assists.

The spontaneous flurry of offensive execution resulted in a sudden ten-point lead for BU, as Binghamton was unable to score again until fewer than ten minutes remained.

“A 5-0 run gives them the lead . . . and then the next thing you know, it’s 41-31 us,” Greenberg said of the matchup’s pivotal moment. “[Moran’s] play right there started that 11-0 run for us and we never had to look back.”

The Terriers did not look back, as the Bearcats could not come any closer than six points for the remainder of the game. At the final buzzer, BU had gained a sizeable advantage and would take home the win by a score of 62-49.

Sophomore Rashidat Agboola was key toward the end of the second, scoring on several layups to keep Binghamton at bay. The 6-foot-1 forward finished the night with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block. This is Agboola’s third consecutive game scoring in double digits.

Despite the starters playing heavy minutes, including a full-game performance by Moran, substitutes used their limited opportunities to contribute to the Terriers’ effort. Junior guard Kristen Sims and sophomore forward Whitney Turner made the best of their chances and scored four points apiece – each higher than their averages at this point in the season (2.9 and 2.2 points, respectively).

“Every game going in, we don’t know what is going to be presented to us,” Greenberg said. “It’s great to have six or seven players that are going to see what they’re doing defensively, and are going to take advantage of what’s available at that time.”

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